Peter Overbyhttp://wutc.org
enPolitical Consultant To Be Sentenced For Violating Campaign Finance Lawhttp://wutc.org/post/political-consultant-be-sentenced-violating-campaign-finance-law
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Political+Consultant+To+Be+Sentenced+For+Violating+Campaign+Finance+Law&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDA5MTYwMDQ1MDEzMzE1ODcyMjRmY2FlMA004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: <p>Millions of dollars will be spent in this presidential election by super-PAC-supporting candidates. These outside groups are not supposed to coordinate with the campaigns, but increasingly, that line is getting fuzzy.Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:35:00 +0000Peter Overby53673 at http://wutc.orgBillionaire Or Bust: Who Are Rich Backers Lining Up With?http://wutc.org/post/billionaire-or-bust-who-are-rich-backers-lining
Jeb Bush was pleading for money.Mon, 08 Jun 2015 09:06:00 +0000Peter Overby53487 at http://wutc.orgBillionaire Or Bust: Who Are Rich Backers Lining Up With?Americans Think Money In Politics Is A Problem, But Just How Big?http://wutc.org/post/americans-think-money-politics-problem-just-how-big
A <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2091162/poll-may-28-31.pdf">New York Times-CBS News poll</a> offers compelling new numbers measuring Americans' attitudes toward the rising tide of political money.<p>Just one question: Which numbers should you believe?<p>The current system, in place since the 2010 <em>Citizens United</em> decision of the Supreme Court, allows the biggest donors to operate largely unregulated, and often secretly. That decision, and a lower-court ruling called, <em>SpeechNow.org v.Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:18:00 +0000Peter Overby53309 at http://wutc.orgAmericans Think Money In Politics Is A Problem, But Just How Big?Gyrocopter Pilot On His 'Incredible' Flight Onto Capitol Lawnhttp://wutc.org/post/gyrocopter-pilot-his-incredible-flight-capitol-lawn
Florida postman Doug Hughes made headlines last month for landing his gyrocopter on the lawn in front of the Capitol building.<p>In an interview with NPR, Hughes said he "made every effort to send word ahead" about the flight, but also knew he would be taken into custody.Thu, 21 May 2015 17:50:00 +0000Peter Overby52825 at http://wutc.orgGyrocopter Pilot On His 'Incredible' Flight Onto Capitol Lawn'Candidates' Driving Cash-Filled Trucks Through Campaign-Finance Loopholeshttp://wutc.org/post/candidates-driving-cash-filled-trucks-through-campaign-finance-loopholes
If Congress is all about <a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/08/laws-sausages/">sausage-making</a>, Washington's political-money industry has its own specialty: slicing the particular sausage that is campaign finance law, thinner and thinner.<p>The meat of the law is in its definitions. What is a "contribution"? An "expenditure"? What does "coordinate" really mean? "Public communication"? How about "candidate"?<p>The campaign-finance law, its amendments, regulations and related court decisions define these terms and dozens of others.Fri, 15 May 2015 16:46:00 +0000Peter Overby52582 at http://wutc.org'Candidates' Driving Cash-Filled Trucks Through Campaign-Finance Loopholes17 Months Before Election Day, One Campaign Aims For $100 Millionhttp://wutc.org/post/17-months-election-day-one-campaign-aims-100-million
The price tag for the most expensive penthouses in Manhattan is just edging past $100 million.Fri, 08 May 2015 09:04:00 +0000Peter Overby52279 at http://wutc.org17 Months Before Election Day, One Campaign Aims For $100 MillionBeyond Quid Pro Quo: What Counts As Political Corruption?http://wutc.org/post/beyond-quid-pro-quo-what-counts-political-corruption
The presidential hopefuls haven't spent much time so far with voters. Instead, they've committed many days to courting the millionaires and billionaires who can fuel a White House bid. And at the same time, activists on the left and right are seeking to redefine political corruption, which they believe this is.<p>One prime example: The political network of brothers David and Charles Koch — with pledges of nearly $900 million — seems to bedazzle prospective Republican candidates.Mon, 04 May 2015 09:04:00 +0000Peter Overby52100 at http://wutc.orgBeyond Quid Pro Quo: What Counts As Political Corruption?Court: Corporations May Be People, But 'Judges Are Not Politicians'http://wutc.org/post/court-corporations-may-be-people-judges-are-not-politicians
If there's one thing that today's <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/">Supreme Court</a> doesn't like, it's governmental overreach in regulating political money.<p>But if there's something the court likes even less, it's the increasing prominence of money in electing America's judges.Wed, 29 Apr 2015 22:58:00 +0000Peter Overby51935 at http://wutc.orgCourt: Corporations May Be People, But 'Judges Are Not Politicians'Fact Check: Is The Clinton Foundation 'The Most Transparent'?http://wutc.org/post/fact-check-clinton-foundation-most-transparent
During the early phase of her presidential run, Hillary Clinton has been dogged by scrutiny of her family's foundation, the <a href="https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-presidential-center/about/bill-hillary-chelsea-clinton-foundation">Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation</a>.Mon, 27 Apr 2015 22:39:00 +0000Peter Overby51822 at http://wutc.orgFact Check: Is The Clinton Foundation 'The Most Transparent'?Hillary Clinton Supports Amendment To Get Hidden Money Out Of Politicshttp://wutc.org/post/hillary-clinton-supports-amendment-get-hidden-money-out-politics
Hillary Clinton made a surprising move this week. It wasn't <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/">running for president</a> — she'd already set the stage for that — but embracing the idea of a constitutional amendment to restrict or eliminate big money in politics.<p>The notion of amending the Constitution this way has been discussed, literally for decades.Fri, 17 Apr 2015 22:14:00 +0000Peter Overby51423 at http://wutc.orgHillary Clinton Supports Amendment To Get Hidden Money Out Of PoliticsYou Didn't Check The 'Presidential Election Campaign' Box On Your Taxes, Did You?http://wutc.org/post/you-didnt-check-presidential-election-campaign-box-your-taxes-did-you
Here's a question for you last-minute tax filers. See that little checkoff box at the top of the <a href="http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040a/ar01.html#d0e2182">1040 tax form</a>, the one labeled "Presidential Election Campaign"? You didn't check it, did you?<p>If not, then you're just like pretty much everybody else.<p>That little box is for presidential public financing. It's on the tax form because of the <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/watergate">Watergate scandal</a> — because of million-dollar contributions, secret donors and government decisions favoring corporate moneymen.Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:03:00 +0000Peter Overby51304 at http://wutc.orgYou Didn't Check The 'Presidential Election Campaign' Box On Your Taxes, Did You?Presidential Candidates Move Away From Public Financinghttp://wutc.org/post/presidential-candidates-move-away-public-financing
You can still check the box on your 1040 federal income tax return and earmark $3 for presidential public financing. This Watergate-era reform was supposed to push big money out of presidential politics, but so far this cycle, not many people have checked it. <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR.Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:26:00 +0000Peter Overby51279 at http://wutc.orgWho Needs One SuperPAC When You Can Have Four?http://wutc.org/post/who-needs-one-super-pac-when-you-can-have-four
As Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., prepared for his official announcement of a White House run, so had Conservative Solutions PAC. It's a superPAC focused exclusively on helping Rubio reach his goal.<p>Technically, Conservative Solutions has no ties to Rubio. His campaign can't coordinate messages or strategy with it.<p>But Rubio isn't the first to have a superPAC revving up at announcement time.Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:51:00 +0000Peter Overby51231 at http://wutc.orgWho Needs One SuperPAC When You Can Have Four?The Menendez Paradox: Facing Charges After Testifying Against Corruptionhttp://wutc.org/post/menendez-paradox
Sen.Thu, 02 Apr 2015 17:24:00 +0000Peter Overby50785 at http://wutc.orgThe Menendez Paradox: Facing Charges After Testifying Against CorruptionWatchdog Groups File Complaints Against Likely Candidateshttp://wutc.org/post/watchdog-groups-file-complaints-against-likely-candidates
<strong>Updated at 5:40 p.m.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 20:59:00 +0000Peter Overby50696 at http://wutc.orgWatchdog Groups File Complaints Against Likely Candidates